HC allows Jalandhar man to go abroad; says pendency of an FIR no ground to deny him permission
The petitioner, Kanwalpreet Singh Kalra, had approached the high court after he was denied permission to fly to Canada to attend the convocation ceremony of his daughter by a Jalandhar court
The Punjab and Haryana high court has allowed a Jalandhar man, an accused in a criminal case, to go abroad, observing that pendency of an FIR would not mean that the petitioner would not return back.
The petitioner, Kanwalpreet Singh Kalra, had approached the high court after he was denied permission to fly to Canada to attend the convocation ceremony of his daughter by a Jalandhar court. The trial court had refused to hand over the passport to him, which was lying with it.
“The day a child is born, the parents have a desire that he/she attains highest possible education. In Indian society, especially when a girl attains pinnacle of education, it brings joy not only to the parents but also makes the entire country proud. Thus, if her parents attend that function/convocation, it is likely to motivate the child for her further education. Simply because a case is pending, would not mean that a person (petitioner) would not return back to India or cannot be brought back to India,” the bench of justice Anoop Chitkara observed.
Kalra, an accused in 2018 FIR in an attempt to murder case in Jalandhar, in his plea had challenged the Jalandhar court’s order and submitted details of requisite permission the daughter had sought from Canadian authorities.
His daughter had completed a post-graduation diploma in cyber security and computer forensics at Lambton College at Queens College of Business Technology and Public Safety. The girl is in Canada since 2019 and Kalra and his wife had to attend convocation ceremony of their daughter on July 29, as per the plea.
The court allowed him to travel and directed the trial court to return his passport. However, it has imposed some conditions as per which he would have to procure a smart phone and inform its IMEI number and other details to the SHO concerned.
He would have to keep GPS system activated, all the time and as and when investigating officer asks to share the location, he will have to share the same. He has also been restrained from clearing the location history, WhatsApp chats, calls nor format the phone without permission of the concerned SHO. Upon return, he has been asked to deposit the passport back within 15 days.